Organization of the Year: Joseph Finley and Craig Stein

OK, so technically the pair of Joseph Finley and Craig Stein doesn’t comprise a single organization; they jointly own two teams and separately own two others. Still, 2008 was a banner year for the various Finley/Stein entities. The inaugural season for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Class AAA; International League) was by any measure a resounding success, with over 600,000 fans moving through the turnstiles of Coca-Cola Park. The Reading Phillies (Class AA; Eastern League) kept things fresh with new uniforms while still packing them in at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Trenton Thunder (Class AA; Eastern League) also adopted a new look and negotiated a key lease extension (along with improvements) for Mercer County Waterfront Park — and also landed a long-term commitment from parent New York Yankees. And the Lakewood BlueClaws (Low Class A; Sally League) put together another solid year at the box office while making improvements to FirstEnergy Park. For the collected achievements of all four teams — and especially the establishment of the IronPigs — we’re naming the pair of Joseph Finley and Craig Stein as our organization of the year.

There are many things, we have found, that distinguish an operation run by this pair. First, they hire good people. Look at the front-office staffs with each team. In Reading, you have Chuck Domino, Scott Hunsicker and Ashley Forlini heading operations. In Lehigh Valley, you have Domino, Kurt Landes and Danny Tetzlaff. In Trenton, Will Smith is now on board, with Eric Lipsman also working at Lakewood with Geoff Brown and Rich Mozingo. That’s an impressive lineup to begin with. Second, the pair is willing to push the envelope in terms of fan amenities: Coca-Cola Park is state of the art when it comes to its treatment of fans, and Reading has a solid track record with its right-field pool area and left-field group areas. Finally — and this is important — families are expected to have a good time when they come to the ballpark. In this day and age, customer service is king, and it’s stressed at the four Finley/Stein ballparks.

There are many things, we have found, that distinguish an operation run by this pair. First, they hire good people. Look at the front-office staffs with each team. In Reading, you have Chuck Domino, Scott Hunsicker and Ashley Forlini heading operations. In Lehigh Valley, you have Domino, Kurt Landes and Danny Tetzlaff. In Trenton, Will Smith is now on board, with Eric Lipsman also working at Lakewood with Geoff Brown and Rich Mozingo. That’s an impressive lineup to begin with. Second, the pair is willing to push the envelope in terms of fan amenities: Coca-Cola Park is state of the art when it comes to its treatment of fans, and Reading has a solid track record with its right-field pool area and left-field group areas. Finally — and this is important — families are expected to have a good time when they come to the ballpark. In this day and age, customer service is king, and it’s stressed at the four Finley/Stein ballparks.

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